Scrooge (1951) – Live to Film with FB Pocket Orchestra

Looking for the perfect festive outing this holiday season? Step into the Christmas spirit with the classic 1951 film Scrooge, starring the legendary Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, in a magical new way.

This beloved Christmas tale of redemption and goodwill comes alive with the enchanting sounds of a newly orchestrated live score, performed by the three-piece FB Pocket Orchestra. Their reimagined music, atmospheric sound effects, and seamless synchronisation with the film will immerse you in Scrooge’s journey with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

Perfect for families, holiday date nights, or a festive gathering with friends, this heartwarming event combines the magic of a Christmas classic with the joy of live music. Experience the true spirit of Christmas through the power of cinema and sound.

Don’t miss out – book your tickets now and make this Christmas extra special!

The Orchestra

The FB Pocket Orchestra is an ensemble specialising in contemporary instrumental performance. They perform arrangements and transcriptions that reimagine symphonic, orchestral, folk and early twentieth-century repertoire for a new audience.

Recent projects include Around the World in Eighty Staves, exploring global musical traditions, and Mars under Mars, a re-scoring of Holst’s Mars, the Bringer of War to accompany Luke Jerram’s installation Mars.

Their first live-to-film project Scrooge Live, featuring a reimagined orchestration of Richard Addinsell’s original score, showcases the ensemble’s ability to create an orchestral sound in an intimate format and brings this nostalgic film to life for a contemporary audience.

The Music

Composed for the 1951 film starring Alastair Sim, Addinsell’s score occupies an important place within mid-twentieth-century British composition.

Far from incidental accompaniment, the music provides the structural and emotional framework of the film articulating character, atmosphere, and transformation throughout.

The score has been reconstructed by Paul Stevenson through detailed transcription from the original film soundtrack. Due to the common practice for discarding notated scores during the early development of sound for film, all of this work has been undertaken by ear.

This reconstruction preserves orchestral colour, balance, and drama and for the first time the music can be performed live in its entirety.

 

The Film

Released in 1951 and starring Alastair Sim, Scrooge represents the seminal retelling of this classic tale in film.

The film endures not simply as a Christmas staple, but as a landmark interpretation of Dickens’ story, whose dramatic integrity and emotional precision continue to resonate more than seven decades on.

Rated as U the film is open to all and is a perfect way for younger or tentative audiences to experience black and white film for the first time.

 

1951. UK. Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst. With Alastair Sim, Mervyn Johns & Hermione Baddeley. U. 68mins. 

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